I planned to shoot some 'before' pics, but I forgot. Now it's too late.

These are just resting in place so I can see what I'm heading for.

The room is too small to get a full shot - I'm standing on a ladder here.

Some scrap angle iron from my construction days makes the perfect mounting ledge. It's lag-screwed to the studs, and I'll spray-paint it later to match the walls.

I'm just test-fitting the desktop right now. I used my laser level to cut the tops of the 2 supports in front of the window, and the carpet is cut out so they rest on the slab. I'll cut it out between them later.

This is my g/f's side. She needs a lot of room for scrapbooking.

This is the rest of her side.

This is my side. I'll replace that track shelving with built-ins after I finish the desk.

We ironed on all the edge tape & stained everything but the TOP of the desktops. I'll do that all at once when it's installed. I had to do a LOT of cleaning in the garage to get it this cluttered. :-)

A freak snowstorm blew through, and I didn't want moisture or kerosene (from the heater) affecting the wood or the stain, so I had to move them inside to finish drying.

Yes, it smells.

That's my collection of Mikasa Opus Black china & Vogue Black stemware in the background.

The angles are painted, and I'm beginning permanent assembly.

Even 3/4" oak-veneer plywood (Chinese...) warps, so these braces will keep it flat.

The 2 corner desktop pieces are only there to hold the window section in place. It's fully glued together now, and screwed to the wall. The carpet is cut out, so when the slab warms up a little, I'll glue it down. I've found the drawer slides I want, but I still have to build the drawers to go in the bottom.

Her puter goes on that side shelf. I considered adding those corner scraps as footrests, but it would impossible to vacuum under them, so I might do something else.

This veneer is paper-thin, and very easy to peel off when cutting, but the stain hides the flaws fairly well. Next time, I'll know to shop for either TRUE oak plywood, or at least some with a MUCH thicker veneer.

The 2 planks at the bottom were screwed & glued, then stained, and the verticals were screwed & glued on. Then the assembly was screwed to the wall & angles as a unit. My puter will go on the shelf of the large vertical.

The small shelf formed by the bottom of the support is for cables & peripherals, like a UPS, hub, router, etc. I might also add some light shelves or thin drawers later. That black stain on the carpet is part of the reason for this project. Her puter did that in less than a year just from the airflow & static pulling dust in. Now, it's permanent.

Just testing here. I'm using silver aluminum tile edge along the wall to hide the sloppy back edge of the desktop. It looks vaguely like the brushed stainless/nickel accents we have in the rest of the house & on our storebought furniture.

It's coming together...

The smaller holes at the bottoms of the verticals are for power cords to run along the wall on the little shelf. The larger ones up high are for data cables. Nothing will be on the carpet but the chairs & some rolling storage carts that fit under the desk.

The plywood was warped, and my cuts weren't as tight as I wanted, so I used a LOT of weight & some ratchet straps to hold the corner panels in place while I screwed them down & the glue dried. The large holes in the desktop are for cable grommets.

I used PLENTY of screws along the back edges to hold the desktop in place & flat, and a bunch of shelf clips to hold it down on the braces. These coathooks are for wires that run around the corners.

This shows how many screws & clips I used, and the large fish plates at the desktop joints. It wasn't enough...

The desktop is fully glued down now, and the aluminum edge is in place. There's a tiny gap between it and the wood, which will allow me to put on a thick layer of polyurethane after it's stained.

The desktop grommets are for monitor, keyboard, & printer cables. There's a tiny lip at the back of the desktop in front of the window that should prevent things from falling over.

It's now ready for the final edge on the desk. I have to rout a slot for biscuits into the plywood, and into the solid edge that will be rounded over & blended thru the corners.

The holes for the wires to come up are convenient for the straps to hold the edge on while the glue dries.

The holes for the wires to come up are convenient for the straps to hold the edge on while the glue dries.

Now I have to figure out how to cut this. I think I can afford to make one mistake & still have enough to try again.

I had to build this jig & swinging router arm to hold the board so I could cut the arc. I had to cut the slot with the drill & jigsaw before routing the back edge. The inner arc is slightly smaller than the arc of the desktop so the ends will stay tight.

It looks pretty good.

It still needs to be cut for length, rounded, & slotted.

Clamping this one wasn't as easy as the others.

Out of that bottle, I ended up with 6 extra biscuits.

All of the edges are glued on, routed, & sanded. It's all vacuumed & tacked, so it's ready for stain.

All of the edges are glued on, routed, & sanded. It's all vacuumed & tacked, so it's ready for stain.

This offset came out better that I expected.

These corners are OK, but I wish I had done them better.

These corners are OK, but I wish I had done them better.

The first coat is going on pretty well.

The first coat is going on pretty well.

The first coat went on pretty well, even though this angle doesn't show it.

The first coat is dry, scuffed, & tacked - ready for the 2nd coat.

The first coat is dry, scuffed, & tacked - ready for the 2nd coat.

The first coat is dry, scuffed, & tacked - ready for the 2nd coat.

I can stand, run, and even jump on it, and it doesn't creak or sag.

2nd coat is going down.

2nd coat is going down. I got creative with the camera angle to hide a big mistake in the middle.

2nd coat is going down.

I made a few little spots that will probably stay.

This is the worst one, and I'll have to sand it out.

It's not hidden now.

It's not hidden now.

This side looks pretty good, though.

I sanded this area bare & put 2 coats feathered back in. This is just after the 2nd.

This is after the final coat of clear gloss poly.

This is after the final coat of clear gloss poly.

This is after the final coat of clear gloss poly.

This is after the final coat of clear gloss poly.

Because of a consideration on her side, I'm putting the shelf support rail ABOVE the upper shelf on both sides. I'm just test-fitting my corner here.

She's getting anxious to move back in (because we had to take her computer & old desk down for the new dining room furniture), so I'm putting up her shelves first.

I made a few little mistakes, but I was able to hide them.

This area is actually much bigger than this photo makes it look.

Low angle

It's ready for her to move back in.

Mine's done.

She's finished moving her stuff back, but it's not nearly as cluttered as it used to be.

I have the low drawer fronts finished, but I still have to build & hang the drawers. I might also build some high drawers.

I'm pretty much moved in, but when I find a flat-panel monitor I like, I'll move the scanner down behind it & mount the monitor to an arm off the back of the R corner brace below the VCR.

Got the drawers cut, stained & varnished last week, and I built & installed them tonight.

I used 100 lb 16" full-opening slides, which turned out to be necessary. Each drawer weighs 17 lbs empty. I also tilted the slides slightly so the drawers are a little easier to close.

FINISHED!!! :-D

The only problem is that now I realize that I REALLY want high drawers, just under the desktop.